Wei Ping, Gu Nannan, Gu Qianxi, Jiang Jinhui, Chen Jinghua, Du Jianzhong
School of Life Sciences and Health Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China.
Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology and Brain Functional Modulation, Clinical Research Center for Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Translational Research Institute of Brain and Brain-Like Intelligence, Shanghai Fourth People's Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200434, China.
Small. 2025 Jun;21(23):e2501838. doi: 10.1002/smll.202501838. Epub 2025 Apr 22.
Kippah vesicles, fully collapsed polymersomes formed during the self-assembly process, are characterized by a bowl-shaped nanostructure with a large specific surface area, high loading capacity, and an internal void. Current research shows that these structural features have primarily been achieved using non-biodegradable block copolymers, while the fundamental mechanism behind their formation is not well understood. Thus, designing biodegradable kippah vesicles and elucidating their formation mechanism is critical. In this study, a tetraphenylethylene (TPE) moiety - a luminogen with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties - is strategically introduced into the block copolymer side chain-, yielding the novel polypeptide poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly[(glutamic acid-TPE)-stat-(glutamic acid)] [PEG₄₅-b-P(GATPE₂₆-stat-GA₂₉)]. This polypeptide could self-assemble into kippah vesicles driven by hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonding, as confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) absorption, photoluminescence spectroscopy, and morphological characterization across different aggregation states. Notably, the intrinsic fluorescence of these kippah vesicles exhibited high cellular internalization efficiency and excellent cytocompatibility, highlighting their potential for biomedical applications such as bioimaging and targeted cellular delivery.
基帕泡囊是在自组装过程中形成的完全塌陷的聚合物囊泡，其特征在于具有大比表面积、高负载能力和内部空隙的碗状纳米结构。目前的研究表明，这些结构特征主要是使用不可生物降解的嵌段共聚物实现的，而其形成背后的基本机制尚不清楚。因此，设计可生物降解的基帕泡囊并阐明其形成机制至关重要。在本研究中，将具有聚集诱导发光（AIE）特性的发光团四苯基乙烯（TPE）部分策略性地引入到嵌段共聚物侧链中，得到了新型多肽聚（乙二醇）-嵌段-聚[（谷氨酸-TPE）-统计-（谷氨酸）][PEG₄₅-b-P（GATPE₂₆-统计-GA₂₉）]。通过傅里叶变换红外（FTIR）光谱、紫外可见（UV-vis）吸收、光致发光光谱以及不同聚集状态下的形态表征证实，该多肽可通过疏水相互作用和氢键自组装成基帕泡囊。值得注意的是，这些基帕泡囊的固有荧光表现出高细胞内化效率和优异的细胞相容性，突出了它们在生物成像和靶向细胞递送等生物医学应用中的潜力。
